Practice point: The Appellate Division affirmed the dismissal of the complaint, finding that the undisputed fact that plaintiff's slip and fall occurred during a
freezing-rainstorm in progress established prima facie that defendants
were not negligent in failing to remove the ice on the sidewalk in front
of their building on which plaintiff testified that she slipped .
The record also shows that, on the day of the accident, defendants' maintenance staff followed its regular protocol for
clearing newly fallen snow and ice from the sidewalk and the building's
entrance area at 6 a.m. and again at 7 a.m., before the start of the
school day. While plaintiff contends that in clearing the
sidewalk defendants created a hazardous condition or exacerbated a
natural hazard created by the storm, she submitted no evidence to
support her contention.
Student note: Plaintiff did not raise a material fact issue by pointing to the inconsistent testimony of a maintenance
worker as to whether salt was used on the sidewalk before plaintiff's
fall, as plaintiff failed to explain how using or not using salt
could have created or exacerbated the naturally occurring ice condition.
Case: Sevilla v. Calhoun School, Inc., NY Slip Op 03030 (1st Dept. 2015)
Here is the decision.
Tomorrow's issue: Calculating quantum meruit compensation.
